500 ON THE PRICE OF LABOUR. 



endeavoured to fix, to make wages nearly permanent, and always 

 low. In this way the English peasant became, what has never 

 been seen before in any settled community, a serf without land. 

 This he 4ias remained for three centuries, and in his constantly 

 degraded condition (from which immigration into towns and a 

 slight emigration to the colonies and the United States has 

 been a partial escape) lies one of the permanent difficulties at 

 present (1881) in the forecast of British agriculture. For it is 

 clear that when all are degraded, and some escape, the best, the 

 most enterprising, and the most capable will fly, and the worst 

 will remain behind ; to be an increasing burden, or an increas- 

 ing danger, and at the last of a decreasing value 1 . 



ARTISANS' LABOUR. The information which I am able to 

 afford as to the wages of artisans is far more copious, varied, 

 and continuous than that which is forthcoming in relation to 

 agricultural labour. It is derived from a great number of 

 localities, and represents the price paid by all classes of persons, 

 from the king to the ordinary subject. I have given at the 

 latter end of the entries of labour prices in the third volume, 

 some special wages paid by the Crown. These, concurrently 

 with certain others, which will be found in the body of the 

 other evidence on labour prices, will be dealt with separately 

 when the ordinary rates have been discussed. 



The most copious entries found in the accounts are those 

 of carpenters 1 wages. The annual price of this service, often 

 extracted from wide and varied information, is continuous, 

 evidence being wanting for no year in the accounts. As in 

 my previous volumes, I have given a table of the highest prices 

 in every year, and another of average prices for the whole 

 number of entries. Sometimes the entry is marked by an 

 asterisk. This is intended to denote that the wages paid are 

 in London or its vicinity. Till the great rise of money values 

 occurs, prices in London and the neighbourhood are always 

 higher than elsewhere. The fact applies to other kinds of 

 labour besides that of the carpenter. 



1 On the proclamation fixing rates of wages, see above, p. 120. 



